GolfClubAtlas.com > Golf Course Architecture Discussion Group
Sandwich vs. Deal
JNC Lyon:
Watching the Open Championship has me recalling Deal and Sandwich more vividly than ever. Sandwich looked handsome in the sun today, but, of course, I can only imagine what it would be like to be playing Deal in these conditions.
Therefore, I wanted to stage a debate about the two golf courses. Most folks will say that Sandwich is the better golf course. That may be true, but I happen to prefer Deal. Of course, in typical GCA fashion, I'd like to do a hole-by-hole comparison of the two golf courses, with people debating the merits of each before I decide a winner. At the end of 18 holes, we can crown a champion.
Let's get started:
HOLE NUMBER ONE:
SANDWICH--Par 4, 442 Yards
Pat Ward-Thomas picked this hole as the best starting hole in the world. After playing it twice, I would not give it that designation, but it is certainly a hole of considerable merit. The tee shot is wide open during everyday play, with the golfer simply needed to avoid the cow pasture well to the right. The interesting part is the approach, which plays over three bunkers cut into a ridge directly in front of the green. The green itself is very difficult, sloping away from the player and nearly impossible to hold with a tail-wind. This hole is a bit funky, but it makes for a good start to a grand links.
DEAL--Par 4, 389 Yards
Considerably shorter than its counterpart on the Sandwich Bay, Deal's opener should be a breather. Out of Bounds looms on the right, but the fairway itself is very wide and should be easy for a player to find once he steadies his nerves. Although the tee shot is featureless, the approach is full of character. Usually, the player will hit his approach with a wedge, crossing a narrow burn to a rolling green. When I first played Deal, I was unimpressed with the first tee shot. Once I arrived at the green, I knew the course would be something different. The green was quite unlike anything I had seen before it: massive, low-profile, but filled with all sorts of contours that forced the player to leave the ball on the correct part of the green. The first hole is far from the best at Deal, but it indicates what the golf course is all about: fun, and a great set of green complexes.
Eric Strulowitz:
I have been fortunate to play both, and it is really hard to say which one is better. In my opinion, the first hole at Deal is quite ordinary, and does not set the stage for the great holes to come. And the finishing hole at Deal also a bit out of character from the previous holes on the way back, it is anticlimatic. Sandwich starts and ends on a more exiciting note, the holes fit better with the surroundings and flow of the land. For both courses, the holes in between are superb, I really can't say which one is better, that is tough!
I will say this, it is amazing what has been accomplished at Deal with such a narrow strip of land , compared to the abundance of land at Sandwich. And I feel the green complexes at Deal to be superior, some of the most unique and sporty I have ever played.
Scott Warren:
John,
The first at Deal is much better than it sometimes gets credit for due to the wonderful green.
Downwind you might only have 50 yards for your second (I've driven it into the burn a couple of times) so the internal rolls are crucial as you're no chance of birdie and a good chance of bogey if you place your approach in the wrong segment of the green. It's a wonderful, delicate shot and the burn is waiting if you chunk it.
Into the wind or in a cross breeze, which is far more common than downwind, you can have a 6i or more into the green and the trick becomes carrying the burn by as little as possible and/or trying to fly the ball into the upslope of one if the internal undulations to take some heat off it.
Then, regardless of the wind, if you miss the green there are some great recovery shots to be had, encountering those rolls from different angles.
I enjoyed Sandwich's opening hole, but not as much as Deal and I don't feel it offers the variety of Deal's opener.
A pic of Deal's green from short left:
Dale Jackson:
Scott, I agree with you. It is its lack of length that gives it its intrigue and challenges, add another 50 yards and it would become a fairly mundane and hard long hole. I imagine most would say RSG has the better opener but Deal wins on the quirk factor.
Neat idea for a thread, discussing the two courses hole by hole.
Sean_A:
The drive on Sandwich's 1st is far more subtle than JNC describes, watch the Open to see why. Deal's is much more in your face with OOB on the right and harsh rough left. The approaches are quite different as well with Sandwich's green slipping front to back and Deal's being not a gatherer, but a not a shedder, sort of a rippler, but not overly diffciult to putt on. The green is in full view making the water the obvious issue. Its hard to say which is better because I admire that Deal has used a crap piece of land (generally flat with wet spots - low ground) to make a good hole. Sandwich wins on subtlety and beauty, but Deal wins on intimidation. I am gonna go with half even though Sandwich's introduces the course better and is a much more pleasant spot to start a round.
Ciao
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